Silly Girl

Kaia's been busy developing her own personality and has been doing really great the last couple weeks with all the new things in our lives. In fact I've been jealous that she's been sleeping so well for Josh (2 hour naps when she'd only take 30 minute ones for me) and sleeping great at night. That is, until Sunday night. She'd been a little grouchy all day and wasn't eating well and then had a terrible night. She kept waking up and then was up from 2 until 5:30. She didn't sleep or eat well yesterday either and then had another terrible night last night. I'm not sure what's going on. I think she might be getting more teeth because she keeps chewing her blanket, but I don't know for sure. She's got all her 1 year molars already and didn't have any trouble with those, but maybe these next ones are worse. Anyhow, I thought I'd also share some of the things Kaia loves these days...

• Her motto is "I'll do it myself." She wants to try out everything and does not want any help. On walks she doesn't want to take the stroller and instead wants to walk by herself. Do not even try to hold her hand-screaming ensues. She also thinks she needs to hold the dogs' leash.
• Kaia is definitely a girlie girl. She must always be wearing her necklace and if she doesn't have it on and sees Mama's necklace, she must go find hers. She loves to carry her purse and also to go through Mama's purse. She pulls out all the cards until she finds the credit card and then proudly carries it around (we're in trouble!). If I'm putting on makeup Kaia wants some too, the same with lotion or perfume. Then she runs over to Daddy to "sniff".
• She has strange tastebuds for a baby. Kaia loves pickles, red pepper, onion, tomato, and black olives. And I have to hide the oreos and snickers or else she finds them and wants one.
• Her favorite game is to point to parts of the body, especially on the face. As soon as she wakes up and I pick her up she points to my eye and says "eye". She also loves her belly button and toes, and thinks it's hilarious if I smell her toes and say "pee-ew stinky!". She waves her hand in front of her nose to say "stinky".
• She loves to laugh and it is the sweetest sound in the world to me. She just has a deep belly laugh and last night she was laughing so hard she almost fell over.
• Her newest thing is to spin around in circles and then laugh and laugh. She's also learned to say "mine" (mah). And to make a slurping sound when she gives her stuffed animals a drink. Her new animal sound is "bah" and is right on cue when we ask what a sheep says.
• She's a sweet girl who has endless hugs and kisses for her toys, dogs, and mama and daddy.

Visitors!

We're doing great! We've gotten to catch up with a few friends we haven't seen in a while and still have a few to get together with. Grandma Julie was here last week and Kaia had a great time playing with her while Daddy was out of town and Mama was at work. Thanks Julie! On Saturday, Nana Hazel and Papa Vernon came to visit. Kaia was sleeping when they got to our house, but she was very happy to see them when she woke up! We were so glad they were able to make the trip and excited they got to see our new place, even if it is still a little unsettled. My cousin Kyle was able to come over for dinner on Sunday and we were glad to see him too! He's in his 1st year of law school, so we know how nice it is to get a break from studying once in a while. Josh and Kaia had to go out of town the last couple days, so I haven't known what to do with the house to myself. Sampson and Berkeley have been enjoying the extra long walks and the t.v. has gotten a little extra usage. I did get a chance to go to dinner with my college roommate last night, which was great and it was nice to catch up. But I am definitely looking forward to going home and seeing their smiling faces tonight!

Playdate!

We had our 1st visitors in our new house last week! Kaia's friend Finnean and his parents (mommy and daddy's friends Michael and Courtney) came over for dinner last Wednesday and we had a great time! Kaia loved Finn and couldn't stop patting him! She did a pretty good job of sharing her toys and enjoyed being the big girl! Here they are on Kaia's Dora couch...

Pictures!

Superbaby!!
Having fun @ the park!

Cheering on the Hawks!

Sending kisses!

Our new townhouse!!

Kaia's newest thing is saying "mmm" after eating something she likes. It started with her saying it every time she took a drink of water, and now she's progressed to saying it about practically every bite. Last night Grandma Julie was here, so we went to Panera for dinner. Kaia liked her grilled cheese and the chicken and vegetables, but she LOVED her squeezable yogurt. After every slurp she'd loudly say "MMMM", much to the delight of everyone around us. She is such a ham and loves going out to eat because she loves to watch the other people and have them watch her. She smiles at everyone and waves and makes funny faces. So anyhow, she loved her yogurt and Julie and I got a kick out of watching her entertain herself and others. She also loves pickles and lemons, which Josh and I think is crazy because neither of us are fans of those.

I haven't gotten a chance to post new pics because I don't think I packed my USB cable, so I'm waiting for Josh to bring that back for me. But I found a couple pictures on my phone I thought I'd post...

Kaia after her 1st ice cream cone. Don't let her face fool you...she LOVED it! She now gets very excited whenever we say we're going for ice cream.

Kaia playing dress up in her daddy's shirt. You may notice her necklace, which she always has to wear! And her hair...she refuses to leave a bow or hairtie in!

13 Months!

We are officially past the 12 months mark and into the 2nd year of Kaia's life! What an amazing blessing! She turned 13 months yesterday, which makes me wonder when exactly we stop counting in months? I think maybe it's after they turn 18 months. Anyhow, I'll keep celebrating those monthly milestones for now! Kaia's doing pretty well adjusting to the move. She's been sleeping well in her new room and is proud to show everyone where her bed is. Her favorite room is the pantry-she loves to go in and out. And we have an island, which she loves to run around and play hide and seek. The one negative thing was that she got a cold on Thursday, which was of course the day Josh had to go to Bloomfield to work. She had a fever and sore throat, along with a runny nose. And I felt terrible because this is the 1st time she's been sick that I haven't been there to comfort her. And to make it worse I was in a completely different town. But Josh did a great job taking care of her, along with Grandma Julie, until I could see her again. And she was feeling much better yesterday. The highlight of the week was going to church yesterday and seeing Kaia wave her hands up and down, enjoying the music and praising the way only a child can. What a blessing!

Kaia's busy walking and running around everywhere. In fact, she's not content to be held or sit in the stroller too long...she'd rather explore for herself. She is a big talker and has long talks on her phone to anyone she imagines is listening. She loves to read and brings an endless stream of books for me to read with her. She also loves to dance and sing to music. Her favorite things right now are her new tennis shoes Grandma Julie gave her, and she loves to wear them. Even if she's just in a diaper she wants to wear those shoes! And she loves to carry a purse, just like Mama! She's quite a character and it's so fun to see her little personality developing. We love her so much and are so thankful for her in our lives!

As I'm sharing fond words of our daughter I can't forget to praise my husband, who has been so great during this whole process. He has wholeheartedly supported me going back to work and us moving, and without complaint beared the brunt of the heavy lifting, in more ways than one, in our moving process. He is doing a great job taking care of Kaia while we transition her to daycare and juggling this all while handling his own workload. He's amazing and Kaia and I are very blessed to have him!

We're looking forward to another great week and I promise to post some new pictures soon!

Lots of updates!

For those of you who didn't get my e-mail, we have had lots of changes in the last couple weeks!! I have started a new job at the Capitol, which means our family has moved! I found out I got the job less than 2 weeks ago, which meant we had to hustle to find a new place to live. We were successful in finding a townhouse that we love and we moved in on Sunday. I started work yesterday. We're still in an uproar, but are excited for all our new changes. I will post pictures when I have time! Kaia's doing great...she's slept pretty well in her new room the last few days and is loving exploring her new house. She's already checked out the park and been on some walks around our neighborhood and is loving it so far! Josh is staying with her right now and is doing some work from home and she'll be transitioning to daycare in a few weeks. It's a huge change for all of us, but I know she'll love it and it'll be much easier for her than for me. But I'm excited about my new job opportunity and I know everything will be great! Thanks for keeping our family in your thoughts and prayers through this busy and exciting time!